Dillinger Four

Dillinger Four is not only the best punk band the midwest has produced but probably the most thoroughly midwestern punk band ever. Unpretentious, hardworking, and hard drinking, between 1998 and 2002 they delivered three albums of tightly wound pop punk-slash-hardcore that lacerated pompous hipsters as viciously as various Man figures. They big-upped Nelson Algren in song, and for as often as their concerts turned into recon missions to the farthest frontiers of good taste, I never saw them miss a note. And when they got bigger than they thought they should be, they got off the bus. No press release, no postgame interview--they just quietly backed out of the music business, something they must've been planning since the tour for their first record, when they sold T-shirts that said "Music Is None of My Business." They've just started playing shows outside Minneapolis again, and there's supposed to be a new D4 album coming out next year--if there's any truth to the old adage that terrible presidents make for great punk rock, it's gonna rip. The Methadones, Toys That Kill, and Dan Padilla open the early show, which is all-ages; the Arrivals and Toys That Kill open the 21-and-up late show. Wed 6/5, 5 and 10 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, 773-281-4444 or 866-468-3401, $10.